When I was a little girl I used to get spanked; when I grew big, dey whipped me on de bare back or bottom wid de strap or de hick’ry switch; and I’se had de paddle on my bottom several times, said Mary, coolly as possible.
Who used to whip the women?
One ob de overseers gener’ly; but sometimes de Massa himself used to whip de house-servants, Dere was a room kep’ for de purpose, an’ when a gal or a woman was whipped, she was tied face downwards on a long bench, den her close was turned up an’ she got her allowance.
Were the whippings severe?
Oh, dey always hurt us dreffully an’ made us squeal out loud an’ wriggle; an’ sometimes we was whipped till the blood come.
Here Dolly broke in, saying: And when the skin of a woman’s back or bottom has been broken by a whipping, the marks never entirely disappear. Mary has plenty of marks upon her body at this moment. Show your bottom to the English gentleman, Mary, and prove the truth of what you have told him.
The woman, without the least hesitation, turned her back towards me. Then she gathered all her clothes up under her arms, exposing the whole lower part of her person. (She was wearing no drawers.)
It was a sight! All women of Negro blood have, naturally, big bottoms, and, since Mary was rather stout, her bottom was enormous, the plump hemispheres of flesh swelling out and sweeping in great curves to the massive thighs and sturdy legs cased in tight, white cotton stockings. Her skin was smooth and of a light brown tint, and I noticed at once that both the fat cheeks of her bottom as well as the upper part of her thighs were marked with long, fine, white lines where the skin had been cut by the lash.
She seemed to like showing her opulent charms, for she was in no hurry to drop her petticoats, but stood looking over her shoulder at me with a complacent smile on her face till her mistress said: That will do, Mary. She then let her clothes fall and left the room smiling.
There, said Dolly, you have seen the marks on her bottom, and I can tell you that her back is just as much marked. Moreover, she was seduced, or, to speak more correctly, she had to give herself up to her master’s eldest son when she was only fifteen years old. She afterwards passed through the hands of the two younger sons; but the fact of her being the plaything of the three young men did not save her bottom from being blistered by the paddle or striped with the switch whenever she committed an offense of any sort. She has told me that she sometimes had to go to the room of one or another of the young masters while her bottom was bleeding from a whipping. I have another woman about thirty-five years of age in my service as cook; she comes from South Carolina, and her body is even more scarred than Mary’s with the marks of the whip.
Dolly paused for a moment or two while she sipped her tea. Then she said: Now don’t you think it is a good thing that slavery has been abolished in the United States?
Yes, indeed I do. I had no idea that female slaves were ever treated in such a way, I replied.
The details given me by Dolly and the quadroon had surprised me very much and had also somewhat moved me. But at the same time I was feeling very randy. The sight of a woman’s bottom always has an exciting effect upon me. Therefore the full view I had just had of Mary’s big posteriors had given me a tremendous cockstand. So, taking hold of Dolly, I kid her on her back, pulled down the bedclothes, tucked up her drapery and poked her again with great gusto. Then, after refreshing myself with a cup of tea and a piece of toast, I got up and had a cold bath in a small dressing room adjoining the bedchamber.
As soon as I had dressed myself, I bade Dolly good bye, promising to be back again without fail at seven o’clock. Then, giving her a kiss and a good present, I left the house and made my way back to the hotel where I was staying. After changing my clothes I sat down to breakfast with a good appetite, feeling very well satisfied with my night’s amusement.
The day passed rather slowly, and sharply at seven o’clock I was back at Dolly’s house, curious to hear her story and fully intending to stay with her all night again.
She seemed glad to see me, and she was looking very nice in a pretty frock of some soft white material. She gave me a simple but well cooked little dinner, with a bottle of excellent Burgundy.
Mary, smartly dressed and beaming with smiles- but perfectly respectful-waited on us, and, when the meal was over and we had gone into the drawing room, she brought some really well-made coffee.
Dolly leant back in an easy chair with her feet, in smart velvet slippers, resting on a stool, and, since her skirts were slightly raised, I was able to see her trim ankles cased in pale blue silk stockings.
I lit a cigar and settled myself in another easy chair opposite her. She then began to tell me her story, which turned out to be a very long one.
The tale was not nearly finished when we went to bed after a little supper at midnight. But, having got interested in the narrative, I wished to hear the end of it, so I paid Dolly three or four more visits and she continued her story each time I saw her until, at last, she had related the whole of her adventures to me. Since I was able to write shorthand, I took down her narrative exactly as she related it, without a break, in her own words.
CHAPTER ONE
My name is Dolly Morton, I am just twenty-six years of age and I was born in Philadelphia, where my father was a clerk in a bank. I was his only child and my mother died when I was two years old, so I have no remembrance of her. My father’s salary was small, but he gave me as good an education as his means would allow, his intention being that I should gain my living as a school teacher.
He was a silent, stern, reserved man, who perhaps may have been fond of me in his way: but he never showed any outward sign of affection, and he always kept me under strict discipline.
Whenever I committed a fault, he would lay me across his knees, turn up my short petticoats, take down my drawers and spank me soundly with a broad piece of leather. I was a plump, soft, thin-skinned girl who felt pain acutely, and I used to shriek and kick up my heels and beg for mercy — which however, I never received, for he would calmly go on spanking me till my poor little bottom was as red as fire and I was hoarse with screaming. Then when the punishment was over and my trembling fingers had buttoned up my drawers, I would slink away with smarting bottom and streaming eyes ° our old servant who had been my nurse, and she would sympathize with me and comfort me till the smart of the spanking had passed off.
Our life was a rather lonely one; we had no relatives, my father did not care for society of any sort and I had very few girl friends of my own age; but I was strong and healthy, my disposition was cheerful and, fortunately, I was fond of reading, so, though I often felt very dull, I was not absolutely unhappy as a child.
And so the years rolled on, quietly and uneventfully. My childhood passed, I was eighteen years of age and had grown to my full height of five feet, four inches; my figure was well rounded, and I was quite a woman in appearance. I had begun to chafe at the monotony and repression of my life, and was sometimes very willful and disobedient. But I always suffered on such occasions, for my father still continued to treat me as a child, taking me across his knees and spanking me whenever I offended him. Moreover, he informed me that he would spank me every time I misbehaved until I was twenty years old. This was very humiliating to a girl of my age, especially since I had become rather romantic and had begun to think of sweethearts. But I never dreamed of resisting my father’s authority, so I took my spankings
— which, I must confess, were sometimes well deserved-with as much fortitude as I could muster up.
But a change in my life was soon to come. My father was seized with an attack of pneumonia, to which he succumbed after a few days’ illness.
I was stunned at first by the suddenness of the blow, but I cannot say that I felt much grief at my loss. My father had never made a companion of me, and, whenever I had tried to interest him in my little affairs, he had invariably shown himself utterly unsympathetic. However I had not much time to think over the past; my position r s it was at that moment had to be faced, and a most unfortunate one it was.
